Paint metering tray and receptacle

ABSTRACT

A longitudinally ribbed roller is freely journaled within a trough. A portion of the roller extends through an elongated opening formed in a tray overlying the trough. When a pad-type painting tool is moved across the top of the roller a metered amount of the paint carried within the trough is dispensed to the paint applying surface of the painting tool. Upstanding teeth on the roller insure its rotation as the painting tool is drawn across it despite the use of viscous paint.

O United States katent n51 Mawm Meisner 51 Mar. M, 11972 [54] PAINT METERING TRAY AND 3,135,000 6/1964 Rasmussen ..l5/257.06 X RECEPTACLE 26%,??? Howell l5/257.06 7 E erson ..ll8 252 1 lnvemofl Edward Meisnel" 1311mm, NJ. 2,625,702 1/1953 G sbbs l5/257.05

73 1R d1) '1 U N. 1 ASslgnee e Incorpnrated 1 Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin [22] Flledi July 17, 1970 Attorney-Albert F. Kronman [21] Appl. No.: 55,741 [57] ABSTRACT A longitudinally ribbed roller is freely journaled within a CCII ..15/257.05, trough A portion of the roller extends through an elongated [58] Field 6 104 opening formed iln a tray gverlying ltlhe troufghl.l Whfin a padtype painting too is move acrosst e top 0 t e r0 er a me- 118/252 401/208 222/224 tered amount of the paint carried within the trough is dispensed to the paint applying surface of the painting tool. [56] References Clted Upstanding teeth on the roller insure its rotation as the paint- UNITED STATES PATENTS ing tool is drawn across it despite the use of viscous paint.

764,796 7/1904 Davis ..1 18/252 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUMAR 14 1912 SHEET 8 OF 2 W //////l 1 I/I/l/l l lllmr Ill/I III/l INVENTOR ATTORNEY PAINT METERING TRAY AND RECEPTACLIE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of trays to hold paint during painting operations is well known. Such devices have had their widest use in conjunction with roller applicators and generally consist of an open trough to receive the paint and an inclined bottom portion upon which the roller applicator can be moved to distribute the paint before transferring it to the surface to be painted.

Where trays and pad-type paint applicators having a flat resilient pad covered by small outwardly extending bristles are used, however, only the most skillful painter can get just the right amount of paint on the pad for satisfactory paint application. Too much paint results in dripping, runs and an uneven result. Too little paint causes streaks and decreases the surface area which can be covered by each application of the pad to the tray.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a paint tray for use with a pad painter which will dispense the proper amount of paint to the surface of the pad.

Another object of the invention is to provide a paint tray which will hold a substantial quantity of paint for ready application.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a paint tray which is stable, lends itself to use on ladders, and may be readily disassembled for cleaning purposes.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from an examination of the drawings and description which follows.

According to the present invention, a paint-receiving trough is formed with upstanding end walls to freely receive small stub shafts extending outwardly from an elongated roller. The surface of the roller is ribbed and a series of peripheral teeth extend outwardly therefrom to engage the paint applying surface of the painting tool. A flat tray overlies the top of the trough and the roller and is provided with an elongated opening through which a portion of the roller extends. As the paint applying tool is drawn across the teeth of the roller, the roller rotates within the trough and carries a metered amount of paint therein up to the surface of the pad of the painting tool. Excess paint flows downwardly into the trough again by means of slots within the tray.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat exploded view of a paint tray made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in an assembled condition of the paint tray shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of the surface of the paint applying roller shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 in FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows, somewhat enlarged;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view partially cut away taken on line 55 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a somewhat isometric view showing the application of a paint tray, made in accordance with the present invention, to the structure of a ladder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, 10 indicates a trough having upstanding sidewalls 11, 12, and end walls l3, 14. The trough 10 is provided with a shallow V-shaped bottom and is adapted to receive paint or some other liquid therein.

The top of the trough 10 is formed with a peripheral flange 16, having a wide portion 17 running along the rear of the said trough. The wide portion 17 is formed with tool receiving openings 18 wherein a painter may place screwdrivers, scrapers, putty knives or the like (not shown). A skirt 19 extends from the bottom of the trough 10' to form a stable platform upon which the tray may be supported.

U-shaped bearing members are formed or cemented to the inner surface of the end walls 13, 14, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The U-shaped bearing members 20 are of a size to receive small stub shafts 21, which extend outwardly from a roller 22. The roller is thus freely carried within the trough 10 just above the bottom 15 thereof (see FIG. 2).

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the roller 22 consists of an elongated member having longitudinal ribs 23 formed in the surface thereof. In addition, the roller is provided with upstanding teeth 24 which extend a short distance above the ribs 23. Two sets of teeth 24 spaced from each other and extending radially from the roller are shown by way of illustration. It will be apparent, however, that one or more sets of teeth may be employed for the hereinafter described purpose without departing from the spirit of the invention.

A tray 25 overlies the trough 10 and roller 22 in the manner shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The tray 25 is formed with an elongated opening or window 26 through which a portion of the roller 22 extends when the tray is in position. The sides of the tray 25 have depending tabs 27 which fit against the inner surfaces of the end walls 13, 14, and rest upon the tops of the U- shaped bearing members 20. The tabs 27 thus keep the stub shafts 21 from coming out of the bearing members 20. The front of the tray 25 has a step-shaped flange 28 which overlies the trough flange 16 and serves to support the tray upon the trough as shown in FIG. 2. The rear of the tray 25 is formed into an offset flange 29 which rests upon stops 30 in the sidewall 12 of the trough lit).

The paint tray may be secured to a ladder 31 in the manner shown in FIG. 6, by means of a clamp 32 which is held by the trough 10 within a bracket 33 formed in the sidewall 14. A plate 34 secured to the clamp 32 slides within the bracket 33 as best shown in FIG. 4 to secure the two members together. An L-shaped locking screw 35 which extends into the ladder receiving portion of the bracket 32 completes the construction of the paint tray and enables it to be securely locked to the side of the ladder 31.

From an examination of FIGS. 2 and 6, the operation of the paint tray will become apparent. With the trough filled with paint 36, the painting tool 37, which. in this case is a pad painter, is placed upon the surface of the tray 25 as shown. The painting tool 37 is then drawn across the surface of the tray 25 in the direction of the flange 23 and toward the user. As the painting tool moves across the: roller 22, the correct amount of paint will be transferred to the surface of the tool 37 for best application to the area to be painted. This operation is repeated until the paint 36 within the trough I0 is used up. The trough 10 is of a size which will accommodate a substantial amount of paint thereby eliminating the necessity for frequent refilling during the painting operation.

Should any excess paint be brought up by the roller 23, it will run off the tray 25 through the window 26 or small slots 39, 10, provided in the tray for this purpose. The offset flange 29 also gives the painter a place upon which to rest the painting tool 37 when he is engaged in other phases of the painting work.

Since the paint tray can be secured to a ladder, the use of the paint tray becomes a one hand operation enabling the painter to hold on to the ladder for his stability. If desired, a bracket 33 can be formed on both of the end walls 13, 14, for left or right hand use.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A paint metering tray comprising a paint receiving trough having a bottom spaced upstanding sides and spaced upstanding end walls, an elongated roller freely journaled within the trough, a series of spaced longitudinal ribs on said roller, a

painting tool receiving tray having an elongated window therein overlying the trough and supported thereby, said tray window being in register with said roller whereby a portion of the roller extends through said window outwardly extending teeth on at least a portion of the roller ribs to engage the painting tool, and support means on said trough to stabilize the tray during use.

2. A paint metering tray comprising a paint receiving trough having a bottom, spaced upstanding sides and spaced upstanding walls, an elongated roller freely journaled within the trough, a series of spaced longitudinal ribs on said roller, a painting tool receiving tray having an elongated window therein overlying the trough and supported thereby, said painting tool receiving tray having an outwardly extending stepped flange along the front thereof to overlie the trough flange and an offset flange along the rear thereof, said tray window being in register with said roller whereby a portion of the roller extends through window, and support means on said trough to stabilize the tray during use.

3. A paint metering tray comprising-a paint receiving trough having a bottom, spaced upstanding sides and spaced upstanding end walls, an elongated roller freely journaled within the trough axially disposed outwardly extending stub shafts on the roller, stub shaft bearings on the inner faces of the end walls to receive the stub shafts, a series of spaced longitudinal ribs on said roller, a painting tool receiving tray having an elongated window therein overlying the trough and supported thereby, said tray window being in register with said roller whereby a portion of the roller extends through said window depending tabs at each side of the painting tool receiving tray, overlying the stub shafts and the stub shaft bearings, and support means on said trough to stabilize the tray during use is provided with axially disposed outwardly extending stub shafts and the end walls of the trough are formed with stub shaft bearings on the inner faces of said end walls. 

1. A paint metering tray comprising a paint receiving trough having a bottom spaced upstanding sides and spaced upstanding end walls, an elongated roller freely journaled within the trough, a series of spaced longitudinal ribs on said roller, a painting tool receiving tray having an elongated window therein overlying the trough and supported thereby, said tray window being in register with said roller whereby a portion of the roller extends through said window outwardly extending teeth on at least a portion of the roller ribs to engage the painting tool, and support means on said trough to stabilize the tray during use.
 2. A paint metering tray comprising a paint receiving trough having a bottom, spaced upstanding sides and spaced upstanding walls, an elongated roller freely journaled within the trough, a series of spaced longitudinal ribs on said roller, a painting tool receiving tray having an elongated window therein overlying the trough and supported thereby, said painting tool receiving tray having an outwardly extending stepped flange along the front thereof to overlie the trough flange and an offset flange along the rear thereof, said tray window being in register with said roller whereby a portion of the roller extends through window, and support means on said trough to stabilize the tray during use.
 3. A paint metering tray comprising a paint receiving trough having a bottom, spaced upstanding sides and spaced upstanding end walls, an elongated roller freely journaled within the trough axially disposed outwardly extending stub shafts on the roller, stub shaft bearings on the inner faces of the end walls to receive the stub shafts, a series of spaced longitudinal ribs on said roller, a painting tool receiving tray having an elongated window therein overlying the trough and supported thereby, said tray window being in register with said roller whereby a portion of the roller extends through said window depending tabs at each side of the painting tool receiving tray, overlying the stub shafts and the stub shaft bearings, and support means on said trough to stabilize the tray during use is provided with axially disposed outwardly extending stub shafts and the end walls of the trough are formed with stub shaft bearings on the inner faces of said end walls. 